Knitted lace fabric and articles



Nov. 19, 1935, v G. 'GAsTRlcH l 2,021,598

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Nov. 19, 1935. G. GASTRICH 2,021,598

KNITTED LACE FABRIC AND ARTICLES Filed Sept. 25, 1952 3 SheetS-Shee'il 5 IN V EN TOR:

A TTORNEYI Patented Nev. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,021,598 KNITTED LACE FABRIC AND ARTICLES Gustav Gastrich, Wyomissing, Pa., assig'nor to Textile, Machine Works, Wyomissing,.Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 23, 1932, Serial No. 634,469

3 Claims.

, many ornamental designs and pleasing effects obtainable. However, owing to the delicate nature of the majority of the heretofore produced knitted lace, due directly to the ever-present liability of thread rupture of the lace forming stitches resulting in distortion or enlargement of the individual lace openings, these more or less costly articles have been frequently discarded long before being actually worn out. Such disadvantages have, in the past, materially restricted the use of various knitted lace articles, especially fine stockings, which are particularly subject to this condition.

In most of the heretofore produced lace fabrics, if the thread of any of the opening-producing stitches is ruptured, the lace opening immediately spreads or enlarges due to release and unravelling of the broken thread, thus irreparably distorting or destroying the design. Ihis is due to the fact that the opening-forming stitches of these fabrics are so connected as to readily unravel, once they are ruptured.

The lace forming stitches are normally often under tension and, therefore, are .more easily ruptured, and in stockings, increased tension is applied when stretched tightly upon the leg of the wearer. A broken thread in a lace stocking cannot ordinarily becaught up or the lace opening repaired in a suitable manner to satisfactorily restore the original design and appearance of the design unless the extent of the openings is limited.

Thread rupture of one or more of the lace forming stitches also tends to cause a walewise run in close-knit or other'knitted areas adjacent the lace openings, and such a run may extend into an adjacent lace opening, thus not only affecting the lace opening in which the run started, but also affecting adjacent areas;

The term lace fabric, as used herein, and as generally understood in the art, refers to a knitted fabric having therein an openwork ornamentation, or a fabric wholly or partly made up of ornamental opening-forming stitches, such as transferred-stitches, tuck stitches, drop stitches, or other open-work producing stitches, as distinguished fromV plain chain stitches.

While certain knitted lace fabrics have been produced by special stitches which are inherently impervious to unravelling in case of thread rupture, such stitches cannot be utilized in obtaining the same pleasing design effects produced by the various opening-forming stitches which are ordinarily subject to unravelling. 10

One object of my invention is to provide novel means in knitted lace fabrics whereby lace openings, formed by ordinarily raveling lace stitches, are made impervious to substantial enlargement or distortion when the thread of said stitches is 15 ruptured.

Another object is to knit such fabrics by a new method whereby barrier stitches are combined with the usual lace forming or open-work producing stitches in novel manner; thereby enhanc- 20 ing the appearance and quality of the fabrics and the articles made therefrom.

A further object is to `combine barrier stitches with the yusual lace forming stitches in lace or.-

namented knitted fabrics and thereby provide 25 ',run-proof knitted 'lace work fabric.

' in the surrounding lace-forming stitches.

Another object is to produce a lace fabric in which thread rupture of one of the lace forming or open-work producing stitches is prevented from spreading to, or causing a runner in, areas 35 adjacent thereto. l

Another object is to provide novellaceA stockingsphaving the above mentioned advantageous characteristics.

With these and other objects in View, which 40 will become apparent from the'following detailed description of several illustrative embodiments of my invention, shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention consists in the ynovel method of producing new and improved knitted 45 fabrics and articles,as hereinafter more particularly pointed'out in the claims.

Fig. l is a view on an enlarged scale, ofY one combination of lace-forming stitches and barrier ystitches in accordance with the invention; 50

Fig. 2 shows lace-forming stitches and barrier stitches in combination with plain knit courses;

Fig. 3 shows a modified arrangement of stitches which may be employed;

Fig. 4 shows a stocking composed substantially 55 entirely oflace made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 5 illustrates a full-fashioned stocking having lace areas employing the stitches of Figs. 1, 2 or 3; and

Fig. 6 shows a stocking in accordance with the invention having lace clockwork and a lace area in the welt.

In knitting the stocking of Figs. 4 to 6 the welt portion 8 is knitted iirst, as usual, and the leg 9 is begun at the welt and knitted toward the foot portion I0. Therefore, in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 which are .enlarged diagrammatic views of patches of fabric from the stockings illustrated, the order of knitting the courses is from the top course downward.

Referring to Fig. 1, the lace fabric comprises openings formed by courses I0 and I3 having barrier stitches interlocked with open-work producing stitches, and separated by two courses and I2, or I4 and I5, having other open-work-pro-V ducing stitches therein, the open-work producing stitches of each opening extending linto four .successive courses and into four adjacent wales |6 to I9. Courses' I0 consist of alternate plain loops 20"and barrier stitches iny the form of spread interlocking loops 2t. In producing the barrier stitches 2| of each course I0 or I3, I first form a course of plain loops and then before the same are cast -off their needles, certain Jloops, preferably alternate loops, as-shown, are spread from the wales I1 and I9 in which they originate to adjacent wales I8 and I6, respectively, in the same course, and in the adjacent wales the bight portion 2|a of each spread loopv engages under the needle loop and over the associated sinker or divider loop so that the portion 2|a will be held between a needle Wale loop and a sinker Wale loop. The barrier stitches just described may be knit either by hand or byy machine, and may be automatically produced on full fashioned knitting machines of the well known "Reading type when used with the loop spreading mechanism described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 623,206 filed July 18, 1932 for Knitting machine and method for the production of nonrun fabric.

In course plain loops are first formed and, in order to produce the lace opening, selected loops 22 and 23 in wa1esy|1 and I8, respectively, are transferred to the adjacent needles; the loops in wales |8 are transferred to the right into wales I9, and those in wales I1 are transferred to the left into wales I6, to form an opening of desired width. In course I2, the loops 24 which 'ordinarily would comprise loops in wales I1 and I8 are transferred to the right into wales I 9 to continue the lace opening in a manner well known in the art.

In the succeeding course I3, plain loops are rst formed, the sinker loops 25 engaging with the thread of loops 24 to complete the lace openings. As in course I8, alternate loops are spread into adjacent wales to form barrier stitches 2|, except that they are spread from wales I6 and I8 into wales |1 and I9, respectively, and are there- Vfore staggered with respect to the barrier transferred loops 22 and 23 are interlocked with adjacent barrier stitches 2|. In course I5 the loops 24 are transferred to the right, as in course I2, to continue the lace opening. In course I0 adjacent course I5, the thread of each loop 24 is 5 locked with the associated sinker loop 25a of the barrier stitches.

Due to the interlocking engagement of the barrier stitches 2| with the transferred loops 22, 23 and 24, any. thread rupture occurring is pre- 10 vented from formingV a run, or from substantially distorting the lace design. For example, thread rupture of 'the open-work producing or transferred stitches will not cause substantial spreading or enlargement of the lace opening 15 because the transferred stitches are gripped or interlocked at various points with the barrier stitches. -Sinceravelling of any of the lace forming stitches is substantially prevented, ravelling or loosening of the adjacent stitches is prevented, 20 or 'is confined to the immediate vicinity of the rupture, thus preventing distortion of the lace design beyond satisfactory repair. Also, any thread rupture occurring is mostly likely to occur in one of the lace forming stitches, and therefore pos- 25 sibility of a run is substantially prevented by locking the lace' forming stitches in the manner disclosed.

Fig. 2 shows an arrangement in which courses 26 of plain chain stitches form plain-knit areas 30 between adjacent rows of the lace openings. Al-

. though two plain knit courses onlyare shown, it

will be understood that any desired number of such courses may be interposed, or that the courses 26 may comprise or consist of stitches 35 other than plain chain stitches. In any case, a run due to-thread rupture in the plain or other knitted areas is stopped or is limited by the barrier stitches' 2| in courses I0 and I3, so that thread rupture occurring in the plain knitareas 40 .will not distort or destroy the lace design.

Fig. 3 shows another arrangement in which the lace forming stitches are combined with barrier stitches 2| and also with a modied form of barrier stitch 21. It will be seen that in courses 45 28, the loops 21 originating in wales 34 and 36 are extended or spread into the adjacent wales 31 and 35, respectively, and also into the suc-,-v needing course 29, so that the loops which would ordinarily form needle loops in the course 28 are 50 v carried into the succeeding course 29 and displaced transversely in that course, thus forming part of the wales 35 or 31, as the case may be. In these wales the bight or spread portion 21a of each loop 21 engages under a needle loop and 55 over .the associated sinker or divider loops as the case may be, with vthe lace forming stitches 22 and 23. In course 30 the stitches 22 and 23 are transferred to the left and right, respectively, to 60,

continue the lace opening.

U In course 3| the loops 38 which ordinarily would form loops in wales 31 are transferred to the left into wales 36 and there'interlock with sinker loops 39 associated with barrier stitches 65 21. Barrier stitches 2| are also provided in course 3|, and are spread from wales 35 into wales 34, thus locking wales 35 and coacting with barrier stitches 21 and the lace forming stitches 2,2, 23 and 38 to Vprevent runs in the lace 70 areas. In courses 32 and 33 the barrier stitches 21 are spread into adjacent wales and also into succeeding courses in the manner of these stitches in Ycourses 28 and 29, except that the barrier stitches in courses 32 and 33 interlock 75' with thelace forming stitches in the course from which they are spread by means of their associated sinker or divider loops.

Fig. 4 shows a stocking in which the leg portion 9 is vcomposed substantially entirely of lace, and employing the stitches of Fig. 1; due to the barrier stitches interlocking with the lace forming stitches the stocking is rugged and substantially run-proof, notwithstanding the sheer nature of the lace of which'it is composed.

In Fig. 5 the stocking has an area 40 comprising plain courses, such as 26 in Fig. 2, with bands 4I of lace-forming stitches combined with barrier stitches in the manner above disclosed. It will be understood, however, that various courses in the area 40 may comprise barrier courses to limit runs therein, or that the entire area 40 may comprise barrier stitches so arranged as to make the area substantially run proof.

Fig. 6 shows a lace band 42 in the welt, and l also lace clockwork 43, in which the lace-forming stitches are combined with barrier stitches of the type shown in Fig. 1, 2 or 3. As in the stocking of Fig. 5, various of the courses in the area 40 may be barrier courses to limit or substantially prevent runs therein.

I am aware that spread loops of the type disclosed have been employed to produce an ornamental eiect in a fabric, but I believe myself to be the rst to combine or interlock lace-forming or open-work producing stitches with barrier stitches in the manner and for the purpose disclosed herein.

Of course, various other forms of barrier stitches known in the art may be employed to interlock with the lace forming stitches generally in the manner above described, andvarious other types of lace-forming stitches other than those shown may be used to engag or interlock with the barrier stitches shown, or with other forms of barrier stitches for the purpose, and generally in the manner above described, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various specically diierent arrangements may also be employed to obtain substantially the advantages of the invention.

The term spread, as used in the specication and claims, defines a locking loop having one or both legs remaining in its wale of origin and a bight thereof extended to, and knit with, a loop of an adjacent Wale in the same or a sucv ceeding course.

I claim: 1. A knitted stocking having a continuously knit ornamental area comprising a series of reg-l ularly spaced rows of lace-opening defining loops including one or more loops which when ruptured will permit substantial enlargement of the openings dened by said loops, and a series of rows of special loops interknit with and alternately spaced Awith said first rows, the'construction of said special loops being such as to ensnare said first loops to prevent substantial enlargement of the lace openings dened thereby upon rupture of the yarn of said first loops.

2. A continuously knit ornamental lace fabric having successive courses composed of loops demore loops which when ruptured will permit substantial enlargement of the openings defined by said loops, and a plurality of yarn-ensnaring loops adjacent to the upper and lower edges of said openings adapted to stop unraveling movement of the yarn when yarn rupture occurs in the opening-defining loops, thereby limiting walewise extension of the ornamental openings.

GUSTAV GASTRICH. 

